Retrouvailles
by chocolatequeen
Summary: In the telepathic dampening field of Legilo, the Doctor can find temporary relief from the ache of his broken marriage bond. On this trip, however, he'll find something more. Doomsday reunion fic
1. Chapter 1

Retrouvailles: The joy of a reunion after a long separation. This is one of those "Ten words about love that can't be translated into English."

The Doctor felt Donna's eyes on him as he circled the TARDIS console slowly and took them away from the Ood Sphere. "What did Ood Sigma mean?" she asked as he threw the dematerialisation lever. "When he said your song would end soon?"

The ever-present ache between his temples grew stronger, and the Doctor slouched down onto the jump seat. He pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth as he considered how best to answer Donna's question without concerning her.

"The Ood equate telepathic connections to song," he explained. "Since their shared telepathic mind sings."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Donna put one hand on her hip. "Yeah, but that doesn't make any sense then," she said. "You're not connected to anyone."

The Doctor winced when the dull ache deepened into a familiar pounding sensation. "I'm not now," he agreed, "but I was. I'm supposed to be. Ood Sigma is wrong, though. Our song will never end."

"You mean Rose." Donna walked over to lean against the console in front of the Doctor. "You had a telepathic link with her?"

He nodded and tried to ignore the pain that stabbed both his hearts at the past tense verb. "It was the way the Time Lords took a mate," he whispered.

Donna's jaw dropped. "You never said you were married!"

The Doctor looked up at her, and part of his brain registered that the rapidly worsening migraine was making his vision blurry. "It hurts to think about," he confessed. "Losing her physical presence was bad enough, but marriage bonds aren't meant to be broken. Ever. If I didn't talk about it, I could almost pretend it didn't happen."

Donna jumped when the time rotor chugged up and down behind her. "Where's she taking us?"

The ship brushed comfort over the Doctor's mind, and he smiled faintly. "To Legilo," he told Donna. "She's taken me here twice before: once right after I lost Rose, and once a year later."

He cringed when he thought about Martha's reaction to his explanation. She'd been less than impressed that he'd never told her Rose was his wife and had smacked him on the shoulder, telling him she would have left him alone if she'd known he was a widower. The Doctor shrugged; he'd thought he'd made himself clear when he'd told Martha that he and Rose were together. Even after nine hundred years, he didn't fully understand humans.

The TARDIS landed lightly, and the Doctor could already feel the pressure on the telepathic centre of his mind ease.

"So why'd she take us here, then?" Donna asked.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair and stood up. "Legilo has a natural telepathic dampening field. The natives are among the strongest telepaths in the universe, so to quiet the chatter, the planet dulls telepathy."

Donna nodded. "Coming here is like, one of those sensory deprivation tanks, isn't it? You spend an hour here, and closed off from everything, you don't miss anything."

 _Anything_ being Rose. The Doctor tilted his head. "Yeah, I suppose it is."

The Doctor glanced at her as he put his coat on, trying to figure out how to ask her to let him go alone. In the end, he didn't have to.

"Well, I'm knackered after everything we've done in the last week," she said. "I think I'll stay here while you go get your treatment, Spaceman."

He smiled at her as he straightened the collar on his coat. "Thank you, Donna."

"Oh, don't get soppy on me." She rolled her eyes, but her smile was genuine. "Just feel better when you come back, all right?"

The Doctor sighed when he stepped through the TARDIS doors into the blissful telepathic silence of Legilo. Three years had passed since he'd lost Rose, but the ache of their severed bond hurt as much as it had the day she'd disappeared to Pete's World.

The TARDIS was parked in the shadow of a tall fir tree on the edge of a meadow, and the Doctor walked through the sun-dappled forest until he reached the clearing. The stone bridge still crossed the small river that ran through the meadow, and the Doctor walked over it and followed the path into the village.

Butterflies fluttered over fields of fragrant wildflowers, and it hit him then, as it always did when he came to Legilo, how much Rose would have loved this world. The beauty here was pure and unsullied, painted in vibrant colours, like a fairytale picture book.

A group of the lilac-skinned natives met him at the edge of the village. "You have come again in your blue box," one said. "We hear her every time you visit us. She sings to us."

"The blue box is sad. She misses the Wolf."

The Doctor's hearts clenched. "We both do," he managed to get out, his voice raspy.

Oh, this wasn't fair. Legilo was supposed to be his refuge from thinking about Rose, but instead, she was there everywhere he turned.

"You are not our only visitor today, Doctor," a third Legilan said. "We are having a feast this afternoon to celebrate our honoured guest's birthday, and we would be pleased if you would bring your red-headed friend to eat with us."

The Doctor hesitated, but this trip was already nothing like he'd expected. "All right, fine," he agreed, trying not to sound as petulant as he felt. "But until then, can I just maybe go into the village?"

The shook their heads in unison. "Preparations for the feast are already underway. You must wait another hour. Go get your friend, and you will be welcome when you return."

He cast one more glance into the village, then sighed and turned around. The bright colours he'd admired earlier were now annoying and overly cheerful, and he trudged through the meadow without noticing the sweet aroma of wildflowers.

"Well, that was fast," Donna said when he found her in the library. "I thought you'd stay there for at least a couple hours." She glared at him. "It hasn't been hours, has it? Time on your ship is weird."

"No, it hasn't been hours," the Doctor told her. "It seems we've been invited to a feast—there's some important guest visiting, and it's their birthday."

Donna stood up and brushed the wrinkles out of her trousers. "Birthday? Do we need to bring a gift or something?"

"They didn't ask us to. Just told me to go back to my blue box and bring my red-headed friend with me to the party."

She put her hand on her hip and glared at them. "Hang on, how do they know about me?"

He sighed and massaged at his left temple. Being on the TARDIS away from the full effects of the dampening field was bringing his headache back.

"I told you, Donna, they're extremely telepathic. They probably pulled an image of you from my mind the moment I stepped outside."

"I don't like the idea of random aliens poking around in my head," she grumbled, reminding him so much of Rose that it hurt.

"They don't go poking on purpose," he told her patiently. "To the Legilans, picking up on your thoughts is just like you looking at them and seeing that their skin is lavender. It's something you see and you register, but you don't really dwell on it."

She tilted her head and stared at him for a few moments, then finally nodded. "All right, fine. When do we leave for this feast?"

"Now would be good," he told her. "By the time we walk back to the village, they should be ready to let us in."

"They wouldn't even let you into the village before?" Donna smirked at him as they walked through the TARDIS. "I think I like these aliens after all."

The Doctor pouted. "Will you side against me every time?" he asked.

"Do you know how rare it is for you to be told no?" Donna retorted. They pushed open the TARDIS doors and started for the meadow. "I'll enjoy it when it happens."

The building ache in the Doctor's mind dissipated, and he let out a long breath.

"Is it really that bad, not having her there?" Donna asked, all the teasing gone from her voice.

"Do you know what phantom pain is, Donna?" he asked. "After an amputation, the brain still thinks the limb exists, so it'll shoot pain along the neurological pathways. But you can't do anything about it. There's no limb to bandage, no itch to scratch."

His voice broke, and he rubbed at his forehead in between his eyebrows. "Every day," he said quietly. "I can feel where she's supposed to be every day, and I try to find her, but she isn't there."

"Doctor."

The deep sympathy in her voice reminded him that he didn't travel with Donna because of her sarcastic wit, or because she called him Spaceman and Martian. He swallowed back the lump that rose up in his throat and picked up the pace.

"Come on. By the time we reach the village, all the good food will be gone."

Donna was blessedly quiet the rest of the way to the village, leaving the Doctor to brood in silence. This trip hadn't been the balm a visit to Legilo usually was. In fact, he had a feeling that when they left and he no longer had the benefit of the dampening field, the ache for Rose would be stronger than it had been before.

Two Legilans greeted them at the edge of the village. "Welcome, Doctor and Donna Noble. Allow us to escort you to the table set up for the guests of honour."

The Doctor cocked his head. "I thought your other guest was the guest of honour, and we were just… crashing the party."

A strange smile crossed the face of both aliens.

"You are all honoured guests," the second explained. "But today is her birthday, so we insisted on holding a feast in her name."

The Doctor opened his mouth, but whatever he'd planned to say was forgotten when he heard familiar laughter. The Legilans stood aside as he bolted past them, running towards that sweet sound. It wasn't possible, and yet it would make sense of all the odd behaviour today.

And there, on the other side of the green, was the one person he most wanted to see in all the universe. "Rose!" he shouted, and she spun towards him, her face a mask of disbelief.

Then they were both running, arms pumping hard as they raced to bridge the remaining 100 yards separating them. They met in the middle of the green, right in front of a table laden with food. The Doctor caught his wife up in his arms and laughed as he spun them in circles.

Her bright pink top had short sleeves, and their bond buzzed between them where his fingers rested on her bare arms. He blessed the fact that their touch telepathy allowed them to bypass the dampening field; he wasn't sure what he would have done if he'd been able to see her but not feel her.

"Can I, Rose?" he whispered as he set her down. "Please?"

Her hands reached for his temples, mirroring his own, and the connection surging through them nearly sent them to the ground. The Doctor had just enough presence of mind to wrap one arm around her waist, tugging her close and giving them enough stability to stay standing.

Chaotic messages were passed back and forth over their bond without any sense of who thought them first. _I missed you. I love you. I never thought I'd see you again. How did you get here?_

"Oi, Spaceman!" Donna's strident voice broke through their daze, and they jolted apart to look at her. "I hate to interrupt, but you're blocking the food table."

Rose laced her fingers through his before he could protest and pulled him through the buffet line. Neither of them were willing to relinquish contact, so she held a plate while the Doctor heaped food onto it.

"Sorry about that," Rose apologised to Donna as they worked their way down the table. "I'm Rose Tyler, by the way."

"Yeah, I kinda figured Martian boy here wouldn't be clinging like that to anyone but his wife," Donna said.

Rose shot him a quick glance as they made their way to the table at the centre of the green. _Martian boy?_

 _Come on,_ he whined. _Can't you be touched and happy that I told my new companions about you?_

She sat down beside him and rested her head on his shoulder for a moment. _I am,_ she promised him. _I thought maybe… you'd try to forget me._

The Doctor brushed his lips over Rose's temple, relishing the way the bond flared at the intimate contact. _Forgetting you would have been impossible, love,_ he promised. _You're part of who I am._

Her happiness shot through him, and the Doctor wondered how much longer they had to stay at the party. Even with the aid of touch telepathy, their bond was restrained by the dampening field, and he wanted to feel his wife without any barriers between them.

Rose took a bite of a potato dish. _We can't leave yet._

 _But I want to take you home._ The Doctor ran his thumb over her knuckles, relishing the shiver that elicited from her. _It's been so long._

Rose shook her head. _You can be patient. They went to a lot of effort to put this feast together for us._ She raised an eyebrow. _And by the way, keep those thoughts PG. Remember why this planet has a telepathic dampening field in the first place?_

The Doctor felt his face turn bright red, but he didn't look away from Rose. _I haven't seen my wife in three years. They can't possibly be surprised, if they do happen to catch a glimpse of my thoughts._

The Legilan on his left clear her throat and chuckled. "Not surprised at all, Doctor," she agreed in a bland voice. "And Rose Tyler, you need only stay until the meal is over. We would all understand if you and your mate preferred to share a private celebration." Rose groaned and banged her head lightly on the edge of the table. 

_They understand about the bond,_ the Doctor told her. _I need to be able to feel you fully in my mind, like you're supposed to be, and we can't do that as long as we're on Legilo._

Donna leaned around Rose and jabbed the Doctor in the side. "Listen, I've been talking to Elgim here," she said, pointing at the Legilan on her other side. "He's said it'd be all right if I stayed in the village tonight when the two of you go back to the TARDIS."

The Doctor furrowed his brows. "I hadn't really planned to stay on Legilo," he admitted.

Donna snorted. "Well, that's too just too bad, Sunshine," she said, drawing a giggle from Rose. "Because I definitely do not want to wander in on your reunion shag, and I don't trust you to keep your hands to yourself long enough to drop me off at home."

 _Not to mention your driving isn't the best when you're… distracted._ Rose reminded him of London, 2012, and the time he'd tried to park the TARDIS while she teased him.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. _You didn't play fair that day,_ he countered. _Unless you're planning to rub yourself against me while Donna's in the room, I think we can avoid that kind of mishap._

Rose's cheeks turned pink. _Let's just eat our dinner so we can go home._

oOoOoOoOo

After thanking their hosts, Rose followed the Doctor out of the village, matching his long stride as best as she could. She tried to focus on the flowers, the butterflies, the beautiful colours, anything but the Doctor. On any other planet, she would have tugged him down into the sweet-smelling meadow and made love to him right there, but not when their activities would be projected to every native in a hundred mile radius.

The late afternoon sunlight cast an autumnal glow over the forest as Rose finally caught sight of the TARDIS. Her hand trembled when she reached for it, and she had to suck in a breath to hold back tears when she felt the weathered wood under her fingers for the first time in five long years.

"Can I?" she asked, but then the door opened without either of them using their keys.

"I think she knew you would be here," the Doctor said quietly.

Rose didn't know what she was supposed to feel as she stepped through the doors. Under all the joy of being home and with her Doctor again, she was so tired from the years of trying to get back to him, and a little sad about leaving her family behind in Pete's World.

Then she looked away from the console and back at her Doctor, who was leaning against the door staring at her with dark eyes.

Lust pooled in her belly, and Rose shrugged off her blue leather jacket and tossed it over a strut as she sauntered over to him. When she was within reach, she grabbed his swirly tie and walked backward towards the ramp, tugging him along with her.

He stumbled over his feet for a few steps, but then he planted his hands on her hips and walked with her in a sensuous dance. "In a hurry to get someplace, Miss Tyler?"

Rose stopped and closed the distance between herself and the Doctor. "Well…" she drawled, mimicking him, "I thought we could go to the media room so I could catch up on the last few years of _By the Light of the Asteroid_." The Doctor blinked, and Rose pushed herself up on her toes so she could whisper in his ear. "Or, you could carry me to our room and we could start making up for too many long, lonely nights," she suggested. She scraped her teeth over his earlobe before dropping back to the floor and delighted in the full-body shudder that drew from him.

"Or," he murmured huskily. "I think _or_ is the better option."

Rose danced back a few steps and raised her eyebrows. "Then what are you waiting for, Time Lord?"

The Doctor growled and lunged for her. Rose shrieked with laughter when he caught her up in a bridal carry and started for their room. "You seem to have forgotten the penalty for teasing, love."

The laughter died in Rose's throat as several very pleasant memories washed over her. Still, the desperation in his eyes inspired her loop her arms around his neck and murmur, "Shall we see who can hold out longer, Doctor?"

He lowered her to her feet and pressed her against their bedroom door. "Oh, Rose Tyler… you have got a deal."


	2. Chapter 2

Person B of your OTP has been away for a long time (business, education, a journey or battle, etc.) and has finally returned home. While sleeping together one night, Person A wakes up/can't sleep and turns to B, who is fast asleep. Eventually, A breaks down in tears, having missed B for quite a while, and wraps their arms around B.

Bonus: B wakes up from hearing A's crying and silently holds A to comfort them until they stop crying, occasionally kissing A on the forehead.

(Otpprompts)

After months of work, the dimension cannon was finally ready the day before Rose's 27th birthday. In her mind, the planned family dinner that night doubled as the perfect goodbye. Everyone she loved in this universe was sitting around the same table, with plenty of time to share stories and laugh together into the night.

Her mother didn't quite see it that way. "Are you sure you have to go tomorrow, Rose?" Jackie asked one more time as Rose prepared to go back to her own flat well after midnight. "Can't you wait another week or two, give us time to say goodbye properly?"

Rose sighed. No one else had tried to argue with her plans, but her mum had made similar suggestions all night. "Mum, I'm tired," she started, and Jackie interrupted her before she could get another word out.

"Then you should rest tomorrow and wait until you aren't! It's not safe to go across the void when you're exhausted."

Despite her frustration, Rose couldn't help a slight smile at the way her mum was suddenly an expert on void travel.

"You didn't let me finish," she said patiently. "I'm tired of going to bed alone every night, and waking up every morning without the Doctor." She clenched a fist around the wedding ring she wore on the chain with her TARDIS key. "You remember what it was like when Dad died, right?"

Jackie nodded.

"Then don't you see why I have to go? I just…" Her head swam slightly, just like it always did when she was thinking about him. Five years, and she still hadn't adjusted to the emptiness in her mind where he should be. "I want to go home."

Jackie melted when Rose's voice broke on the last word, and she wrapped her up in a tight hug. "Of course you do, sweetheart. I don't know what I'm thinking, asking you to stay longer."

Rose buried her face against her mum's shoulder for a moment, fighting back tears. "I'm gonna miss you so much," she said as she took a step back. "And I promise, if the Doctor and I ever find a safe way to cross the void, I'll come visit."

"You'd better!" Jackie said. "Tell that husband of yours that I don't want to hear about how impossible it is—you find a way to make it happen."

oOoOoOoOo

Rose strapped the dimension cannon around her wrist and took a deep breath. "Wish me luck, Mickey."

Mickey saluted. "Good luck, Boss," he said. "And you tell the Doctor that if he doesn't take care of you, there's a whole army of people in this universe who have access to the plans for that device and are more than willing to come across the void and kick his arse."

"Just don't tell Mum that," Rose joked, then shook her head. "Besides, it won't be necessary," she promised him. "Honestly, Mickey."

Mickey nodded, a skeptical glint still visible in his eyes, and Rose sighed. She'd never been able to fully convince him that things had truly changed between herself and the Doctor. Not even the wedding ring and her mother's agreement could erase his own memories of the Doctor pretending he and Rose were nothing more than close friends.

"Right. Well, I guess this is it." Rose faced the blank white wall and hit the button on her control. Lights exploded around her, then streaked into star lines, like a ship going into light speed on a sci-fi show. Rose could feel her own velocity and the weight of nothingness around her, and then she burst out of the void on the other side, tripping over her feet and only just managing not to fall.

The trip left her feeling nauseated, and she stayed bent over for a moment with her hands on her knees, waiting for the sensation to pass. Once she'd taken a few deep breaths and felt like she could move without throwing up, she straightened and took in her surroundings.

The planet looked like something out of a fairy tale, all bright colours and fluffy clouds and dainty flowers dancing in the wind. She was in the middle of a meadow, but there was a road only ten feet away, and she crossed the grass quickly and started walking along it.

She'd only been walking for five minutes when she met two lavender-skinned humanoids. "Welcome to Legilo," one said as they both smiled pleasantly.

"Thanks—hang on, you're speaking English, and I know we're not on Earth."

Chiming laughter fell from both of their mouths, and they shook their heads. "No, Rose Tyler. Our planet has a telepathic field that serves many purposes. Mostly it dampens individual telepathic ability—necessary, because otherwise our natural abilities would leave us far too open to the universe. But it also provides a universal translation of all languages."

Rose huffed. "Your entire planet gets in my head? I don't know if that's better or worse than a ship." She narrowed her eyes. "And I'm assuming your telepathy is how you knew my name without being told."

"Indeed, Rose Tyler. You have travelled a long way to get home; allow us to celebrate your birthday and your success at a picnic in your honour this afternoon."

"Yeah, all right," Rose agreed, though she was antsy to get down to the work of finding the Doctor. There was something relaxing about this fairy tale world though, and as she followed the natives, she realised what it was.

"I don't have a headache!" she exclaimed. "Every day for five years…"

"That would be our planet getting in your head as well, to use your turn of phrase. As we said earlier, it dampens telepathic ability, so your broken bond with your mate cannot cause you pain while you are on Legilo."

Rose sighed at the simple pleasure of not having a migraine. "Would've loved to have visited you years ago," she murmured.

"We are a popular retreat destination for telepaths for exactly that reason. As you can imagine, certain situations can easily become overwhelming for a telepathic mind."

They entered a small village where tables were already going up on the village green, but Rose was more interested in what they might be hinting at than the fact that they'd apparently passed on the message that they'd met a stranger and were bringing her home from lunch.

"Have…" She licked her suddenly dry lips. "Have you ever met a man who calls himself the Doctor?" she asked. "He travels in this blue box."

The two Legilans looked at each other, then at her. "Indeed, Rose Tyler. We have met your mate several times."

"What did he look like?"

"The first time, his hair was too short to cover his ears and he dressed all in black, mourning for his lost planet."

Rose felt a twinge of sorrow at the image of her first Doctor, stumbling here in the wake of the Time War. He'd told her his entire race was telepathic and that they shared a connection—of course the cataclysmic loss of millions of voices would have sent him running for refuge.

"And… since then?"

"Twice since you were lost to him, the Doctor has sought our quiet. Though the visits were able to ease the ache in his mind for a time, we do not think they did anything for the pain in his hearts."

Rose blinked back tears furiously. "So, how can I help with this party?" she said brightly, not caring that the Legilans saw through her transparent desire to change the subject.

oOoOoOoOo

"Rose!"

She was in the middle of decorating one of the tables when she heard the most wonderful, impossible sound in the universe. Despite knowing it couldn't possibly be him, she spun around.

Even when she saw him on the other side of the green, she couldn't believe they'd finally found each other. But then he pushed past the Legilans and ran for her, and her feet started moving of their own accord, meeting him half way. Her joy burst forth in laughter when he caught her up in his arms and spun them both around, and the Doctor's low chuckles echoed her happiness.

After a few spins, he set her down and his hands moved up to her temples. "Can I, Rose? Please?"

Instead of answering with words, she pressed her own fingers to his temples, giving him the permission he needed to complete the circuit. She sagged against him when she finally felt him in her head again, and he lowered one hand to her waist to hold her close and steady them both.

 _I missed you. I love you. I never thought I'd see you again. How did you get here?_

"Oi, Spaceman!" The strident voice of a stranger jolted them apart, and Rose looked over the Doctor's shoulder at a tall ginger glaring at him with her hands on her hips. "I hate to interrupt, but you're blocking the food table."

Rose could feel the Doctor's protest and quickly took his hand and pulled him over to the buffet table before he could argue. When she tried to let go so they could get food, he tightened his fingers around hers, so instead, she picked up a plate and let him fill it with enough food for them to share.

The ginger followed them down the line and Rose looked over at her when they reached the dessert table. "Sorry about that. I'm Rose Tyler, by the way."

The Doctor's latest companion snorted. "Yeah, I kinda figured Martian boy here wouldn't be clinging like that to anyone but his wife."

Emotion crept over Rose. He'd talked about her. Not only that, he'd told people they were married. She could feel a breakdown threatening, so she looked up at her Doctor as they walked towards the table set up for them. _Martian boy?_

He made a face. _Come on_. _Can't you be touched and happy that I told my new companions about you?_ He glanced back at the ginger, and Rose managed to pick up her name: Donna.

Rose swallowed hard and rested her head on his shoulder while she gathered her composure. _I am,_ she promised him. _I thought maybe… you'd try to forget me,_ she admitted.

In response, the Doctor brushed his lips over her temple, drawing a shiver from both of them when their bond flared. _Forgetting you would have been impossible, love,_ he promised. _You're part of who I am._

Somehow, that was the moment that convinced Rose she truly was home. The tenderness in his voice, the hint of pain that she could relate to so easily… She'd made it back, and unbelievably, she was sitting with the Doctor at a picnic thrown in their honour.

The Doctor shucked his suit jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves, and the extra bit of physical contact deepened their bond. It still wasn't what it should be, but it was strong enough now that she could follow his rambling train of thought—most of which seemed focused on getting back to the TARDIS as soon as possible.

She took a bite of alien potato salad and shot him a sidelong look. _We can't leave yet._

His familiar pout nearly broke through her determination. _But I want to take you home._ His thumb rubbed over her knuckles, and Rose nearly gave in when she caught a glimpse of his plans once they were alone. _It's been so long._

Despite longing for more than the muted hint of his presence their touch telepathy allowed, Rose managed to hold firm. _You can be patient. They went to a lot of effort to put this feast together for us._ His mind brushed against hers in an intimate caress, and she raised an eyebrow. _And by the way, keep those thoughts PG. Remember why this planet has a telepathic dampening field in the first place?_

The Doctor turned tomato red, but unlike most times when she'd managed to embarrass him, he didn't look away from her. _I haven't seen my wife in three years,_ he told her. _They can't possibly be surprised, if they do happen to catch a glimpse of my thoughts._

The Legilan on the Doctor's other side her throat and chuckled. "Not surprised at all, Doctor." She peered around the Doctor to meet Rose's gaze. "And Rose Tyler, you need only stay until the meal is over. We would all understand if you and your mate preferred to share a private celebration."

Rose groaned and banged her head lightly on the table. She'd been trying to pretend the natives weren't overhearing every word of their conversation, and that illusion was busted. Of all the places for their reunion to happen, why did it have to be someplace where they had no privacy, even in their own minds? She quickly recanted her complaint—if the alternative was never seeing the Doctor again, she could handle a few hours of being observed. And if they were so understanding about their need to be alone, she wouldn't insist on staying longer at the party from some outmoded idea of decorum.

 _They understand about the bond,_ the Doctor told her. _I need to be able to feel you fully in my mind, like you're supposed to be, and we can't do that as long as we're on Legilo._

Memories of the six months between their unplanned bonding and Canary Wharf flooded Rose's mind. He was right—the little bit of connection they could share right now as long as they were touching was nothing compared to what their bond should be.

Donna turned from the Legilan she'd been talking to and reached around Rose to poke the Doctor in the side. "Listen, I've been talking to Elgim here. He's said it'd be all right if I stayed in the village tonight when the two of you go back to the TARDIS."

Rose knew immediately that the Doctor was going to argue. Twenty minutes watching him and Donna together, and she'd already figured out bickering was how they communicated. "I hadn't really planned to stay on Legilo," he admitted.

That got a snort from Donna. "Well, that's too just too bad, Sunshine," she said, proving Rose's conjecture accurate. "Because I definitely do not want to wander in on your reunion shag, and I don't trust you to keep your hands to yourself long enough to drop me off at home."

Rose could immediately tell what the Doctor's plan was—take Donna home, then put themselves back in the vortex so they could have all the time in the world to enjoy their reunion without any companions, telepathic aliens, or telepathic barriers to get in the way.

 _Not to mention your driving isn't the best when you're… distracted,_ she told him, putting paid to that idea. Mischief shot through her, and she reminded him of one of the funnier moments when she'd managed to distract him enough that he parked the TARDIS facing the wrong way.

The Doctor smirked and raised an eyebrow. _You didn't play fair that day._ He filled in her hazy details of the memory, including the sensory memory of exactly how it had felt to have her wrapped around him while he flew the TARDIS, her hands wandering. _Unless you're planning to rub yourself against me while Donna's in the room, I think we can avoid that kind of mishap._

Rose's cheeks turned pink. _Let's just eat our dinner so we can go home._

oOoOoOoOo

Somehow, the Doctor made it through the next twenty minutes without regenerating from the need to touch his wife. When the meal was finally over, he collected his own coat and jacket and handed Rose the blue leather coat she indicated was her own, and then they hiked—well, jogged really—back to the TARDIS.

The shadows in the forest had lengthened, and the TARDIS was almost completely hidden when they reached her. Still, Rose found her without difficulty, and the Doctor's eyes stung when she reached out and put her hand on the door.

"Can I?" she asked.

Instead of letting her open the doors, the TARDIS swung them both open herself, and they stepped into their home together. "I think she knew you would be here," The Doctor thanked his ship as he closed the doors behind them tossed his coat over the worn strut.

Closed away from Legilo, he could pick up much more from Rose than he had been able to before. She was a mess of bittersweet emotions, half relieved to be home and half grieving for the family she'd never see again, and he made a mental note to get her to talk about them at some point.

Rose wandered over to the console, unaware that he was watching her. Seeing her there, where she belonged, the desire the Doctor had been fighting for the last hour came roaring back to life.

Finally, she looked over at him, and he could see the instant she realised what he wanted. Fire sparked in her eyes and she draped her coat on top of hisbefore sauntering towards him. It took him by surprise when she grabbed his tie and started pulling him towards their bedroom, but he caught on quickly and dropped his hands to her hips, turning their walk into an impromptu dance.

"In a hurry to get someplace, Miss Tyler?" he teased.

Rose narrowed the distance between them until he could almost feel her clothing brush against his own. "Well… I thought we could go to the media room so I could catch up on the last few years of _By the Light of the Asteroid_."

The Doctor blinked. That was _not_ what he had expected her to say. A smirk danced across her lips, and he was already lost when she pushed herself up onto her toes to whisper in his ear.

"Or, you could carry me to our room and we could start making up for too many long, lonely nights," she suggested. Then she bit down gently on his earlobe exactly the way he'd always loved before dropping back down the floor.

The Doctor couldn't control the shudder that drew from him, and didn't want to. He wanted to lose all control, in fact. "Or," he murmured, watching her pupils dilate at the husky tone in his voice. "I think _or_ is the better option."

oOoOoOoOo

 _The air was colder than the white walls that surrounded her, and a searing pain knifed through Rose's mind. She couldn't feel the Doctor anymore, but he'd promised—_ _ **he'd promised**_ _—their bond would keep them together forever. She wrenched her arm away from her mother and beat on the wall that separated her from her husband. "Take me back. Take me back!"_

Fists pummelling his chest woke the Doctor up, and he grabbed the small hands before he was fully conscious. The dream came back to him swiftly, but it hadn't been his dream.

"Oh, Rose," he murmured, cradling her shaking body as close to his own as possible. "Wake up, love. C'mon, wake up."

Her body jerked awake and froze for two seconds until she realised where she was and collapsed against him. The Doctor stroked her hair and took advantage of the skin-to-skin contact to project as much comfort to her as possible. Gradually, her sobs slowed to hiccups and then faded completely.

"I'm really home," she whispered hoarsely.

The Doctor turned them onto their sides and curved his body protectively around hers. "You're really home," he said, keeping his voice soft.

"I used to dream I made it back, and then I'd wake up and you weren't there."

Her loneliness echoed his own, and the Doctor just barely managed to pull them both out of the remembered heartache. He nosed her hair out of the way and pressed a kiss to the spot where her shoulder and neck met.

"But we're both here now, Rose," he told her, knowing she needed to hear it again. "I don't know how you did it, but you're back."

Rose took his hand in hers and brought it to her lips to brush a kiss over his knuckles. "We called it the dimension cannon," she told him once she'd rested their joined hands between her breasts. "I'll tell you all about it later. For now, just hold me, please."

The Doctor scooted closer to her and tangled his legs with hers, giving them the tactile reassurance they both needed. Then he reached gently for their bond and ran a loving touch over it. Her shudder at the intimate caress mirrored his own, and he couldn't resist placing another tender kiss on her neck.

 _How long are you going to stay with me?_ The familiar question flowed from his mind to hers almost without conscious thought.

He sighed when he felt her own telepathic touch, not as practiced as his own and rusty from disuse, but still able to soothe away years of hurt.

 _Forever._


End file.
